2017-18 Orlando Magic preview: What is this team, anyway?
Magic fans are still not sure what to make of their weird roster, but at least there’s new management!
It’s not all that fun being an Orlando Magic fan after the rough year they had last year. Is there hope for the future, or are we doomed for another lost season post-Dwight Howard? Zach Oliver and Cory Hutson from Orlando Pinstriped Post jump on to discuss the following topics:
- What’s the mood of the fan base in a word? Can they dig themselves out of this salary-cap hole they created?
- Oh hey, it’s been five years since the Dwight Howard trade. Total coincidence that we recorded this podcast on the anniversary. (We swear)
- How much trust is there in the new front office of Jeff Weltman and John Hammond to take the organization out of cap hell?
- Should the Magic have taken Dennis Smith Jr. instead of Jonathan Isaac?
- Which second-half performance was more encouraging: Elfrid Payton’s or Aaron Gordon’s?
- What happened down the stretch last season that the national media missed, whether good or bad?
- We play Max/Hold/Trade (our version of Do/Marry/Kill) with Payton, Gordon, and Isaac.
- What’s the deal with Mario Hezonja anyway?
- Would you rather have seen Shaq or Dwight Howard win a title in Orlando? Which era of great Magic basketball was closer to a title?
- What’s the ultimate Magic NBA Jam team — other than Penny/Shaq, of course.
- Why won’t the Magic retire anyone’s number?
- Who is on your all-time Magic banana boat, i.e. the three people you most want to hang out with on vacation?
- You have to buy one player’s jersey from this current team. Who is it and why?
Plus, predictions, best/worst case, and more. There’s a scenario where Orlando slips into the playoffs! We swear!
(Apologies for the poor audio quality on my mic. I forgot to plug it in. I wish I had a better excuse).
This podcast was part of the Limited Upside podcast’s 2017-18 offseason series previewing all 30 NBA teams with members of SB Nation’s team communities and other friends of the show. We’ve spent the last two-and-a-half months gauging the temperature of every fan base heading into what should be a terrific NBA season. There’s no better way to understand what makes NBA fans in each market tick.
We began these in August and counted down worst-to-first leading up to the season. Here’s how to listen to them all:
- Nets with Kristian Winfield and Nets Daily’s Anthony Puccio
- Lakers with Zito Madu and Silver Screen and Roll’s Anthony Irwin and Harrison Faigen
- Suns with Bright Side of the Sun’s Dave King and Evan Sidery
- 76ers with Tyler Tynes and Liberty Ballers’ Kyle Neubeck
- Knicks with Kristian Winfield and Posting and Toasting’s Seth Rosenthal
- Magic with Orlando Pinstriped Post’s Zach Oliver and Cory Hutson
- Kings with Kenny Carraway and Sactown Royalty’s Tony Xypteras
- Mavs with Tim Cato and Mavs Moneyball’s Kirk Henderson
- Wolves with Canis Hooups’ Eric Goldman and John Meyer
- Pelicans with The Bird Writes’ Oleh Kosel and Travis Tate
- Hornets with James Dator and At the Hive’s Nicklaus Denning
- Pistons with John Ketchum, Kofie Yeboah and Detroit Bad Boys’ Lazarus Jackson
- Nuggets with Denver Stiffs’ Adam Mares
- Heat with Kelly Cohen and Hot Hot Hoops’ Surya Fernandez
- Bulls with Ricky O’Donnell and Blog a Bull’s Jason Patt
- Pacers with Whitney Medworth and Indy Cornrows’ Caitlin Cooper
- Blazers with Blazers Edge’s Brian Freeman and Peter Sampson
- Bucks with Kevin McCauley and Brew Hoop’s Mitchell Maurer
- Hawks with Harry Lyles Jr. and Peachtree Hoops’ Brad Rowland
- Grizzlies with Grizzly Bear Blues’ Joe Mullinax
- Thunder with Eddie Maisonet and Welcome to Loud City’s Joshua Broom
- Thunder addendum! Carmelo Anthony trade emergency pod with Eddie Maisonet
- Wizards with Sports Illustrated’s Andrew Sharp and Bullets Forever’s Michael Sykes
- Jazz with SLC Dunk’s Mychal Lowman and James Hansen.
- Raptors with Raptors HQ’s Daniel Reynolds and freelance writer Seerat Sohi
- Cavaliers with Fear the Sword’s Chris Manning and MMA Fighting’s Eric Jackman
- Clippers with Clips Nation’s Lucas Hann and former L.A. video coordinator Mo Dakhil
- Celtics with Paul Flannery and Celtics Blog’s Nick Gelso
- Rockets with The Dream Shake’s Ethan Rothstein and Jeremy Brener
- Spurs with Pounding the Rock’s J.R. Wilco and Bruno Passos
- Warriors with Golden State of Mind’s Bram Kincheloe
